This blog introduces you to the spirituality and mission of the Sons of the Holy Family, in the North American Delegation. The Sons of the Holy Family is a religious order of priests and brothers founded by Saint Joseph Manyanet to serve and walk with families, children and youth. There is a female branch of this family whose name is Missionaries and Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The lay branch is called The Holy Family Association, still in formation.

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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Pope John Paul II canonizes 6 and calls for rediscovery of Family and Religious Life (L'Osservatore Romano)

Pope John Paul II proposed the rediscovery of the beauty of the family and religious life, when canoncizing six modern figures of holiness in St. Peter Square.
Among the new saints is Italian Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962), a doctor, who at 39 decided to accept the risk of death rather than undergo treatment that would have aborted her unborn child.

Another saint is Joseph Manyanet y Vives (1833-1901), Catalan priest known as the "prophet of the family," founder of two religious congregations (Sons of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph as well as the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth), and a promoter of the Holy Family Temple in Barcelona, Spain. Of St. Joseph Manyanet, John Paul II said: "The Gospel of the family, lived by Jesus in Nazareth together with Mary and Joseph, was the moving force of his pastoral charity and inspired his teaching."

The other two saints were friends and founders of religious congregations. One was Father Liugi Orione (1872-1940), an Italian priest who founded the Little Work of Divine Providence and of the Little Sisters Missionaries of Charity to assist the poorest, specially the disabled. The other was Father Annibale Maria Di Francia (1851-1927), one of the most importants spiritual figures of Italy at the end of the 19th century and early 20th. He founded the Rogationist Fathers of the Heart of Jesus, and the Daughters of Divine Zeal.

Also canonized were Nimatullah Kassab Al-Hardini (1808-1858), a priest of the Lebanese Maronite Order, and Paola Elizabetta Cerioli (1816-1865), an Italian widow and mother of a family. The latter founded of two religious congregations for women, dedicated to helping families.